I started sharing links to this audible book inside of a few chapters to colleagues and friends, as it was immediately inspiring and engaging, and has so much to offer to anyone looking for a fresh view on a much debated topic, ie how to foster and support Innovation in large and small environments.
It was for me both a fascinating tale of history and of the many product and strategy innovations from the lesser known stories of the invention of Radar, the rise and fall of Pan Am Air, to the well known ones of Apple, Pixar and others and a really just fascinating history of the environments that led to certain breakthroughs failing or flying.
As much as its a great history and innovation read, it offers some real insights for companies looking for how to span through that magic 150 employee mark, and how “disruptive innovation” may not be a thing you’re actually trying to do, and a key take away that often the “S” for Strategy Changes can be just as important as the “P” or big Product breakthroughs to remain competitive and beat out the competition.
And while we often wonder how to shift a culture or a group in a certain direction, there are some great analogies in there around phase changes, ie water to ice, and that if you want to make a large change often its the environment that has to change, and that the molecules on their own can’t do it!
And why aren’t we all speaking Chinese? Well there’s a theory near the end, but suffice to say over 500 years ago, the Chinese-Goliath who were possibly 500-1000 years ahead of the Euro-Davids as he calls them, and could at the time have invaded America, turned inwards and said they had enough technology…. And the Europeans set sail, fostered innovation and ultimately conquered the world at least for a while…
See below for the official reviews and links to the Audible and Kindle, and a bit about the Author from the same site.
SAFI BAHCALL received his BA summa cum laude in physics from Harvard and his PhD from Stanford. After working for three years as a consultant for McKinsey, he co-founded a biotechnology company developing new drugs for cancer. He led its IPO and served as its CEO for 13 years. In 2008, he was named E&Y New England Biotechnology Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2011, he worked with the president’s council of science advisors (PCAST) on the future of national research.